Conair’s skimmers arrive in Kamloops ahead of wildfire season
KAMLOOPS — The skimmers have arrived in Kamloops ahead of this year wildfire season in British Columbia. Six aircraft will call Kamloops home this summer, representing half of the provincial fleet. Two RJ tankers and a bird-dog will also be based out of airport this year ready to respond.
“A few years ago we were up in Dease Lake, Telegraph Creek, which is obviously quite a ways away from here,” said Fire Boss Pilot Mike Lewis. “Typically, we spend most of our time in the Southern Interior, not terribly far from Kamloops.”
“One of the nice things about the jets is they can fly far and fast. From Kamloops, pretty much any corner of the province we can hit, even though it’s more southern-based. But we can still go up toward Fort St. John with these airplanes,” said Greg Adams, B.C. Wildfire Service Air Attack Officer.